


Covert Operations

by disasteratsea



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Secret Relationship, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-08
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-07-22 10:30:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7432952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disasteratsea/pseuds/disasteratsea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's about time Steve and Nat shared their relationship with their friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Covert Operations

**Author's Note:**

> For teamcaptsteverogers on Tumblr who requested something with Steve and Nat trying to hide from the other Avengers, who already know.

“So, just to be clear: she’s not your girlfriend.” Sam looks at Steve skeptically, gesturing with his drink in the general area of the kitchen where Natasha is pulling a bag of popcorn from the microwave. They like to eat healthy, these Avengers. 

 

“That's what I've been telling you. Yes.” Steve is very clearly getting tired of this conversation. That doesn't mean Sam’s going to let it go – because he has no plans on doing that anytime soon. Natasha may be a master of secrets but Steve Rogers is what you call a bad liar. And he's been lying (very poorly) about is romantic inclinations toward their teams resident super spy for a while now. 

 

They can all see that there's something going on. It's so painfully obvious that it's frankly insulting that neither of them will admit to it. And to be honest, Sam’s a little hurt.

 

Do they think they have to hide it from them? That the team wouldn't approve?

 

“Right.” Sam says, disbelieving. As if he's really going to buy that line when Steve keeps looking over at her every few seconds. “So you're totally fine with her going out on a date.” 

 

He says it casually, so it doesn't sound like he said it just to test him. Steve’s eyes narrow slightly. 

 

“Is she?” He tries (and fails) to sound disinterested but he's now focused his gaze fully on Sam, the muscle of his jaw ticking as it clenches.

 

Sam knows he's got him now. He shrugs, leans back in his chair. “Dunno, heard it from Wanda.” 

 

Natasha’s already gone, having left the kitchen with her snack, and soon so is Steve, spitting out a terse excuse about having laundry to do.

 

 

* * *

 

Wanda’s watching a movie with Vision when Steve finds her. She smiles brightly and scoots over on the couch, patting the seat beside her. “Do you want to watch with us? It's not far in, we can start at the beginning.”

 

For a moment Steve is distracted by the bright colours of the screen, almost drawn in as two fish, one orange and the other blue, come face to face with a small group of sharks. Finding Nemo, it's on his movie list.

 

It takes him a minute.

 

“No, uh, maybe next time. Hey, did you hear something about Nat going on some date?” Steve asks oh so casually. Subtle is he, this Captain of theirs.

 

She grins at Vision before turning on the couch to look at Steve with her wide innocent eyes and smile.

 

She nods happily. “Clint helped me find someone to set her up with.”

 

Steve crosses his arms over his chest, which Wanda’s come to see as something of a defensive posture for him. “Clint did?” His voice doesn't waver but his shoulders hunch in a little more. His jaw works and his lips twist into something not quite but almost a frown. “Why?”

 

“Mhm.” Wanda chirps. “I asked her last time we went to see them, and Natasha said it’s been awhile since she dated anyone. So I thought it would be nice to find someone for her, Clint knows her better than anyone so I asked him to help.”

 

Natasha and Wanda had gone to visit the Barton family a few weeks prior, coming back  

three days later with a pile of paintings from Lila and more than a few boxes of girl guide cookies she had sold them. _Girl’s a shark,_ Natasha had proudly proclaimed.

 

Both Wanda and Vision could see him turning it over in his head, she felt a little guilty about the whole thing, because Steve was clearly feeling uncomfortable, but they had all agreed that something had to be done, and this was it.

 

“I'm sure Clint will choose the perfect man for her. Unless,” Wanda continues as if she's just had the idea “you two are close, no? Do you know anyone Natasha would like?”

 

His smile is so forced it looks like it hurts. “Sorry, can't help you there.”

 

 

* * *

 

Later in the evening when Steve and Natasha meet up like the often do – privately that is – she picks up on his odd mood immediately.

 

She’s leaned into his side, arm wrapped loosely around him, she rests her chin on his shoulder. “What’s with you? You’re usually way more intent on new movies.” They’re watching Finding Nemo, because he’s wanted to since he turned down Wanda’s invitation.

 

Positioned as they are Steve barely has to move to press a kiss to her hair. “It's nothing.”

 

“Doesn't look like nothing.” Natasha sighs and presses her forefinger to his forehead. “You’ve got those frowny lines you get when something's bugging you.”

 

Steve hums, brings his hand up to meet hers and pull her knuckles to his lips. “Clint and Wanda are trying to set you up with someone.”

 

Natasha pulls away to look at him knowingly, because Natasha always knows, sometimes before even he knows, how he feels. “Have you been stewing over this all day? You could’ve just said something you know.”

 

“I know.” He scrunches his face up as if in pain and rubs it with his hands. “It's just so stupid. There's no reason for it to even bother me. It's just-“ he cuts himself off with a frustrated grunt.

 

“It's just?” Natasha presses for him to continue.

 

His eyes find hers in the dim light and she can see the caring in them. Steve always cares, about everyone, maybe a little too much sometimes but that's what makes him who he is. “They're your friends, and they care about you.” He says slowly, trying to pick and choose the right words. “They want you to be happy; which is why they want to find a guy for you.”

 

“Okay” she nudges him when he pauses.

 

“But that means they think you're unhappy, or lonely, or something.”

 

Natasha draws him back with a quiet Hey. “I'm not unhappy and I'm not lonely. How could I be? I've got you, haven't I.”

 

“I know that.” Steve’s not pouting. “And you definitely have me. All of me, if you'll have it.” Natasha smiles at that - he's such a sap sometimes.

 

"But…” she continues for him.

 

“But what?” Steve frowns.

 

Natasha sighs rather loudly and moves to kneel beside him, looking entirely too at ease with the whole situation in Steve’s opinion. But then, Natasha has a way of seeming comfortable in any situation. “Come on, who do you think you're talking too? I can hear it without you saying it: what’s the but here?”

 

Steve rubs his hands over his face, muffling his words. “I don't even know, Nat.” He says.

 

“It was your idea, remember, to keep it between us.” She says into his neck.

 

He only holds her tighter. He knows they won’t be able to keep it a secret forever, these things have a way of coming out, after all. And they aren’t surrounded by idiots – the team are bound to figure it out sooner or later, and Sam’s not subtle about his suspicions.

 

 

* * *

 

 

They decide to go along with it in the spirit of misdirection and not wanting to spoil all Wanda’s hard work. Natasha thinks it’s sweet of her, Steve can’t disagree; only a few years ago it was her who was always trying to set him up, after all.

 

So it’s business as usual with them. Friends by day and lovers by night. As they have been for a while now.

 

Natasha, he can tell, is enjoying herself immensely. She does love messing with people that she likes, and they figure the others either know or suspect the truth, so her going on this date is going to confuse them.

 

Besides, she likes to dress up.

 

“The black one.” Steve nods sagely. The lacy black dress is his favourite, classy and tasteful but sexy. It will work well for the restaurant she’ll be meeting her mystery date at. He’s sitting back on her bed watching her get ready, sectioning off her hair and wrapping it around the curling iron. She’s as precise here as she is everywhere else, her eyes smoky and lips a plump red. He’d like it if she was getting ready to meet him at a nice restaurant, but that’s not something they can just do, because then people would see and know and talk about them and Steve just doesn’t want that – for them to be a topic of conversation between strangers. The public has enough of their lives already.

 

“Hey,” Natasha’s head pops out from her closet, curls bouncing with the movement, and she gives him a look “stop stressing yourself out.”

 

Again, she always seems to know.

 

She comes out in the black dress he likes so much, the high collar and long sleeves the antithesis to the low-cut back and the short skirt. Patent black heels that he always thinks must be uncomfortable.

 

“Wow, Nat,” he says, standing to meet her halfway “you look awful.”

 

They both smile at the long running joke between them. “Shut up.” She laughs and smacks him in the arm with her handbag.

 

“Horrendous, really. Maybe you should just stay in, spend the night in bed.” Nimble fingers run down her back, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

 

“Tell you what, Captain,” she says smoothly “after I get back tonight, let’s you and I have our own date.”

 

“Sounds like a good plan.”

 

* * *

 

 

The third time Sam stops to linger Steve gives up on reading altogether. He sets Tolkien aside for another day and sighs. Sometimes he’d like to be able to just sit down and get through a book without interruption. “Something the matter, Sam?”

 

Immediately his friend takes a seat in the other armchair. “Just came to see what’s up.” He says with forced casualness. He looks uncomfortable. Steve gestures at the book in his lap. Sam leans forward on his elbows and looks at him earnestly. “You alright?” he asks.

 

“I’m fine Sam.” And he is. But Sam doesn’t seem to believe him, his concern a heavy weight on his shoulders. When Natasha had happily left for her blind date Steve had watched Sam’s eyes widen and his face fall as he looked between them. He’d been checking up on Steve since then. The idea had been to go along with the date to convince the team that they weren’t dating, but now Sam seems to think Steve has some kind of unrequited love toward Natasha. Which would be a pretty awful place to be in, if it were true, but there’s nothing unrequited between them.

 

“Really.” He insists, feeling the old familiar feeling of guilt crawl its way through him.

 

Sam reaches a hand out to clasp around his arm. “You know you can talk to me, right? If you ever need to?”

 

“Yeah, of course.”

 

 _Oh, Hell_. He thinks. He’s going to have to tell him.

 

* * *

 

 

To be honest, Natasha had no idea what to expect when she got to the restaurant. Who would Clint set her up with? Who would he know that he would think she’d be interested in? There isn’t anyone she could think of. She was more curious about it than anything else.

 

The restaurant was nice at least.

 

The hostess informs her that her date has already arrived and leads her through to the dining room, past tables and waiters and bus boys.

 

“I should’ve known.” Natasha laughs once the hostess leaves.

 

Laura shrugs. “You really should have.” She’s already ordered them some drinks and there’s a basket of warm bread that Natasha instantly starts on, feeling half-starved.

 

“Did I scare them off before they even met me or was this always the plan?” Not that she’s complaining, because this is way better than meeting some guy she had no interest in anyway. Laura doesn’t get to get dressed up and go out all that often, not with three kids and a man-child of a husband and a farm with an ever increasing number of stray animals that they’ve taken in. The last time they had actually gone out like this Cooper and Lila had both been at sleepovers and they’d gone to the bar in town. That was years ago.

 

Laura gives her one of those amused smiles and shakes her head. “Please, who would Clint have possibly considered good enough for you? Besides, he wouldn’t set you up when you’re seeing someone.”

 

“Who says I’m seeing someone?” Natasha asks coyly.

 

It’s Laura who laughs now. “Come on, Nat. We’re not completely clueless, we do pay attention, you know.”

 

There was no denying it then, not with Laura, who she had never lied to, who had helped her find herself, who had accepted her into her family with open arms knowing what she was.

 

So Natasha sighs, and gives in. “How long have you known?”

 

“I’ve only been certain since you last visited, but for a while I’ve had my suspicions.” She smiles kindly at her. Like a sister. That’s how Laura always looked at her. “You smiled more. Laughed more. You were so relaxed. And you kept checking your phone, and I know it wasn’t for work because you didn’t frown at it once.”

 

“Guess I’m losing my edge.” She says into her drink.

 

“Or,” Laura suggests lightly over the brown leather of her menu “you actually let yourself accept that you have people who love you, who trust you and who you can trust; and you felt safe enough to let them see that you’re happy.”

 

Natasha can’t quite bring herself to meet her friends’ eyes. It’s a lot for her sometimes, having loved ones. There are times when she’s sure that she wants nothing to do with any of it. And other times she doesn’t know what she would do without them.

 

A hand reaches out to softly rest over hers, slowly as not to startle her. Laura. Natasha swallows down her nerves and looks up to see her friend smiling.

 

Laura squeezes her fingers. “It’s okay, if you want to keep it to yourself. But just know that we’re happy for you, and that it’s okay to let yourself be happy.”

 

“I am happy.” She responds without having to think about it.

 

Good, Laura says, that’s all that they’ve ever wanted for her. She deserves to be happy, she says, and so does Steve.

Laura has the uncanny ability to see things as they really are; she see’s things that go unnoticed by others, picks up on patterns and behaviors. Natasha has always greatly appreciated this about her. She’s never had to tell her when something’s up – Laura already knows. So it’s not all the surprising really, that she knows about Natasha’s not-so-secret relationship.

 

And her having figured out the Steve of it all? Well, it’s not exactly a leap is it. After all, who else does she trust with her truths and her lies? Her thoughts. Her fears and doubts. Who else makes her smile? Makes her laugh? Who else does she let see her at her worst? At her best? At her most mundane? Who else has accepted her, demons and all, after seeing all that she is?

 

It’s him. It’s Steve. Of course it is. There’s no one else it would be.

 

* * *

 

 

It’s late when Natasha gets back, flushed and tipsy with her shoes hanging from her fingers and a black cardboard takeout container. She bypasses her own room and instead goes to Steve’s.

 

“You didn’t have to wait up for me.” She purrs affectionately, crawling up his bed to where he’s sitting with his book and curling up on her side next to him.

 

He looks up at her with raised eyebrows and a fond smile. “Are you drunk?” he asks, poking the tip of her nose with his index finger. Natasha goes a little cross eyed following the movement. Yeah, he thinks, definitely drunk. “How was your date?”

 

“Brought you dessert.”

 

“Mmm, chocolate.” Steve hums happily against her lips when he presses his to hers in a chaste kiss.

 

Chaste – until Natasha throws a leg over his lap and straddles him to deepen the kiss. She pulls away smiling, beautiful, breathless, when the need for air gets to be too much. “Dinner was great. Laura says hi.”

 

“Laura huh?”

 

“Yeah. We really hit it off.” She pouts sweetly. “Hate to have to tell you this but I think it was meant to be. Might have to see her again.”

 

“Oh well, if that’s how you really feel, I won’t stand in your way.” He breathes. Their foreheads press together. His hands warm on her waist. Fingers catching in the soft fabric of her dress. He sighs and presses a soft kiss to her bottom lip. “I guess the jig is up.”

 

“It would appear that way.”

 

It would also appear they weren’t nearly as subtle as they thought. “I can’t believe they played us like that.”

 

“Us?” Natasha laughs.

 

“Yes us, don’t pretend they didn’t get you too. Like you knew it was gonna be Laura at the restaurant.” Steve rolls his eyes sarcastically at her.

 

Natasha maintains that she was neither Had nor had she been Got, by the teams ploy, poking Steve in the chest and shoving him when he doesn’t buy it.

 

Her fingers curl against his stomach.

 

“I was thinking,” he starts “it might be nice.”

 

“Hmm?” she’s tired, half asleep in his lap, her head resting on his shoulder.

 

Steve shrugs, unsure of his words, of himself too. He still feels like the sickly young man he once was, invisible and unwanted and always knocked down. He’ll never lose that part of himself.

 

“It might be nice if they knew. We wouldn’t have to make excuses to be together. You wouldn’t have to sneak out of my room in the morning. I could hold your hand around them, brush your hair back. Kiss your cheek.”

 

Which he then does, peppering her face with noisy little kisses. She scrunches her face up and wiggles out of his range, laughing.

 

“That does sounds nice.”

 

“I was even thinking, maybe next week we could meet up with Clint and Laura for dinner. Just the four of us. Like a double date.”

 

“Really?” Natasha bites her lip, a poor attempt to keep her excitement to herself. She’s hopeful, almost giddy, he can see it clear as day. The last thing he wants is to disappoint her.

 

“Really.”

 

Her brilliant smile is the perfect match for his own.

 

He wonders if she knows just how happy she makes him. How much she means to him. He wonders if she knows how much better everything is for her presence in his life.

 

* * *

 

 

In the morning Sam and Wanda make breakfast. Steve piles his plate with enough food to feed a family of four and Natasha sits close beside him, watching him eat with the usual combination of amusement and horror. She steals an extra crispy piece of bacon from his plate, grinning in challenge as Steve slowly turns to look at her.

 

What are you going to do about it? Her eyes seem to say. And Steve knows exactly what to do about it.

 

He leans in and kisses her in front of everyone, using her momentary distraction to slide her own plate of scrambled eggs away from her.

 

Wanda gasps, her hands jumping up so grab Sam’s arm, to make sure he sees it too.

 

“I fucking knew it.” Sam announces. He points at them accusingly.

 

“Everybody knew it Sam.” Rhodey says from the counter where he’s pouring his second cup of coffee.

 

Steve smiles at Natasha and she smiles back, bringing her hand up to meet his on the tabletop for all the world – well, all the Avengers, but for them that is the world – to see.

 

 

 

 


End file.
